75
edits
Changes
Strategic Priority 1 Added
= Priority 1: Promoting Student Voice & Events =
== Paperless @ Jewell ==
<div>Recent campus changes have brought about a new “library of the 21st century,” the Pryor Learning Commons (PLC). The PLC has revolutionized the way our campus works with regards to reducing paper waste and fully embraces its role as a “paperless building.” However, many traditional modes of student communication such as flyers are disallowed from buildings that are paperless. The advent of social media has not stemmed the problem, but has in some ways exacerbated it. Students invite their existing social connections to events, and a broader audience effectively cannot be reached by an organization looking to expand its outreach efforts. However, new efforts like the program called JewellVerse may be a viable avenue for the production of a technological solution to this problem.</div><div><br/></div><div>JewellVerse is an initiative begun this school year, in which every student, faculty, and staff has an iPad, enabling a single-device synergy that empowers mobile technology in and around the classroom. Professors are beginning to integrate digital materials into their pedagogical approaches in new ways, and the technology is facilitating collaboration and a spread of ideas that previously would have been too arduous to orchestrate without a unified device ecosystem.</div><div><br/></div><div>The gradual transition that many colleges and universities have seen towards working in a digital environment is more complete at Jewell than at many comparable institutions. This presents an interesting dilemma: as the learning curve of a digital campus becomes easier and easier, William Jewell College is experiencing the advantages of working in a digital environment. At the same time, many of the historical means by which students market organizational activities rely on paper and printers, which have perhaps the widest accessibility of any classroom technology ever. Developing digital solutions to work in a digital ecosystem can take a substantial investment of time and energy, and there are few people capable of software development. We consider a Lean approach to this problem, where the problem will be validated, key stakeholder input will be collected, resources identified, and a fail-fast, agile approach to development will be taken.</div><div><br/></div>
== Marketing to Advance Innovation and Entrepreneurship ==
<div>The solution identified through Lean customer interviews involves creating an application to replace the existing “#jewellplc” Twitter feed TV that would include additional content feeds, particularly calendar/event feeds for organizations. On a TV, the application would scroll through content and change feeds from Twitter to Instagram to Campus Events. The same framework that has been used to prototype this project can be used to develop mobile applications, and could lead to an iPad version of the project complete with push notifications of new events.</div><div><br/></div><div>One key consideration is how this project can help advance innovation and entrepreneurship on campus. Primarily, this project aims to increase '''collision frequency'''. This is a key predictive metric for innovation and the exchange of ideas. By catalyzing a broader campus involvement, the culture of William Jewell College becomes a better environment for sharing ideas. As a liberal arts institution, William Jewell has a diverse group of interdisciplinary thinkers, makers, and researchers. We aim to improve our “return on collisions,” as Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh phrases it in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kaAVbf-I7w his talk about the Downtown Project in Las Vegas], embracing three core elements: Collision, Co-learning, and Connectedness. These are crucial for entrepreneurial mindsets and creative thinking to flourish.</div><div><br/></div><div>Another way that this can help our campus entrepreneurs is through establishing policies that would allow not only student organizations and staff to utilize the board, but also student entrepreneurs seeking to promote their ventures. By having an established channel, the awareness of entrepreneurship at Jewell will help normalize the idea that students are capable of designing and running a startup, combatting the currently risk-averse nature of the student body.</div><div><br/></div><div>As for any communications channel, it is important that the spirit of William Jewell College is conveyed as a part of our message. Our commitments to academic excellence, experiential learning, and service would be furthered by connecting students to resources such as the Academic Achievement Center, Office of Global Studies, and Center for Justice and Sustainability. This helps these infrastructural elements of William Jewell get closer to students’ everyday lives.</div><div><br/></div>
== Campus Data ==
<div>In the development of this project, many streams of data will be consumed and placed into the application. One side effect of this process is that the data feeds could be made available to students. Innovation benefits from an open campus data policy, adhering to ideas such as those stated by [http://campusdata.org/ the Campus Data initiative]. By bringing this sort of openness to the “JewellVerse” program, student makers and innovators would have the opportunity to do civic-hacking-style projects and improve their campus community.</div>
= Priority 2: Developing Innovative Curricular Endeavors =